


Midsummer Flowers

by Hitsugi_Zirkus



Category: Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-
Genre: Flowers, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 14:06:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4879696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hitsugi_Zirkus/pseuds/Hitsugi_Zirkus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Asato and Konoe make a discovery of new life in the forest, and find proof of healing in the face of suffering.</p><p>[Takes place after Asato's route, so spoilers ahead!]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midsummer Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! Welcome to my first Lamento fic! It was a close call as to whether my first writing for the catboys would be Asakono or ShuiLeaks, but in the end my fluffy feelings prevailed. I have been neglecting all my other writing duties while being obsessed with catboys. This game owns my soul. I hope more and more fics get made now that the English patch is out! I'll be helping making the archive grow too!! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Sometimes, when the Moon of Light began to wake and stretch an ever brightening hue of blue across the sky, Asato would sense that Konoe wasn’t sleeping. Neither of them were to be honest, and in the shroud of the dark dawn, they laid close to one another, hearts palpitating. When they were this close, their skin sticking together from the cold heat, and the shadows of the night shifting away, it was hard to tell which one of them had had the nightmare.

It wasn’t uncommon in the months following the defeat of Leaks for either of them to wake up shaken and confused about what was real or lost. In the darkness of the night, Asato had to desperately blink a few times to before the faint glow of the leaf reassured him that the black of his arm was due to mere shadow, not because he’d grown coarse black fur everywhere again. Konoe wasn’t overtaken by Leaks and neither had he given up on Asato. He wasn’t bloody beneath Asato’s claws. He was whole.

Well, for the most part.

Asato shifted, groping around for Konoe’s hand, but needing to reach a little further to clasp onto his left hand. The empty sleeve of Konoe’s right arm fell over the slope of his waist along with the blankets. Konoe’s fingers weaved together with Asato’s, his ears flickering as he turned to look at him.

“Konoe,” he murmured, his voice rough from sleep, “are you alright?”

“I should be asking you that.” Konoe shifted over, reaching up to soothingly lick Asato’s cheek. Heat rushed up to Asato’s face, and he was silently grateful to the languid dawn that made Konoe prone to some sleepy displays of affection. Konoe studied him. “Did you have bad dreams?”

Asato couldn’t remember, because Konoe’s fear was his fear after all. As it was, sometimes the trembling feelings just all whirled together like a wind kicking up all the dirt and leaves and pollen and scents. What he knew was that he’d woken up startled, darkness clouding his eyes and head again. The solidness and scent of Konoe in his arms though had greatly soothed whatever nightmare visions he’d been having.

“I’m fine now,” he settled for saying. He nuzzled into Konoe’s soft hair, burying himself in his scent. Konoe too settled in his arms, burrowing closer so that Asato could feel his soft purrs rumbling in his small chest. Asato found comfort in this warm presence of his lover, and convinced himself that as the Moon of Light rose, the last of the shadows would be chased way.

* * *

The forest still had its dangers, but ever since the departure of the Void, parts of the forest previously unapproachable were now accessible. In the free days he and Konoe had now, the pair would sometimes go out exploring these new parts of the forest, as if to become re-acquainted with it. That was how Konoe would explain it anyway. Asato thought it kind of amazing how much a need Konoe felt to reconnect with the forest, as if its essence were something to be communicated with and loved and admired. When Asato thought of the feelings the flower garden gave him, he supposed that he could understand Konoe’s feelings.

About an hour after they had woken up, and Asato had forgotten all about the swirl of horrible images of the night, Konoe had proposed they go out for a walk again. And so Asato agreed, and after getting dressed, they went out together.   
  
It was in the middle of this walk that Asato's ears suddenly perked up in interest. He slowed down, Konoe moving a few steps ahead before he realized that Asato was distracted. 

"What is it?" 

Asato tilted his head in consideration and sniffed the air. Konoe did the same, and he blinked in clarity. "That's a new scent," Asato mused.

"It's not unpleasant," Konoe agreed. "It's really...sweet." He followed the trail of the fragrance, and Asato followed him through the forest, in between the trees and through the foliage, now a healthy green and radiating the fresh scent of life. This wasn't what their noses had picked up, however, and Asato kept his eyes peeled for anything new or suspicious.

In the end, it was Konoe who called Asato over. He sounded breathless, although not with exertion. More like awe. Asato quickly met up with him, and immediately his eyes were greeted with the sight before them. From this, he could understand the slightly entranced look in Konoe's eyes. Asato was sure he had to be wearing it now too. While the scenery spread like an inviting blanket was one that wasn't entirely impossible, it was nevertheless something that would rarely exist in the forest when it had been eroded bit by bit by the Void.

Thinking of that, Asato was slightly startled by what was undoubtedly a clear field of flowers before them, much like the peaceful expanse of the Meigi flower garden. Although it was a burst of life becoming less rare in the forest, Asato had to reassure himself that this was no fabrication of the Void's residue. The white of the flowers was pure and soft, like clouds. None of the discolorations or twisted nature of the Void could be traced on them. Their centers were an ominous dark color, yet this didn't deter from their natural elegance. Asato was speechless at their abundant beauty.

“There’s so many of them,” Konoe breathed. Asato glanced over at him, seeing the awe on his face, and he swished his tail happily at the serene expression. Then he too looked back out to the white sea of flowers. He hadn’t seen such a gathering of blooms before, except for the secret garden.

Konoe took some steps forward then crouched down right at the edge of the field. Regarding the flowers curiously, Konoe delicately brushed his finger against the underside of the petal. Seeming satisfied with this experiment, he said, “They don’t hurt, so I guess they’re okay. Do you think they appeared after the Void left?”

“It’s possible,” Asato agreed, and he joined Konoe among the flowers. “Have you ever seen flowers like these?” Being within Kira's borders all his life, Asato's scope of the natural world was small.

Konoe shook his head. “Karou had nothing like these, and nothing so many. But even nowadays, when we go exploring or merely pass through so often in the forest, we've never seen them. They're really pretty though..." 

Inquisitively, Asato’s tail wagged as he looked down at the full petals of pure white, with their black centers. The contrast made them striking to look at. They smelled pleasant as well. And if Konoe didn’t get hurt from them, then they could be touched or picked, right? That’s right, they were completely harmless.

“Maybe I’ll ask Tokino or Bardo if they know of such a thing, since they seem knowledgeable about this kind of thing-- Asato!? What are you doing!?”

Asato looked at Konoe’s shocked expression in mild surprise. It’d been awhile since Konoe had made such a reaction from something he’d done. It was a bit amusing, and like old times to see his eyes so wide and his lips agape in confusion. Still, Asato stopped what he was doing and slowly lowered the plucked flower from his lips, gauging Konoe’s reactions.

He swallowed the petal he’d already eaten and said, “I was going to eat it.”

“Well, I can see that, but why? I thought that that behavior was something you knocked off by now.” Konoe looked far from amused.

Asato shrugged. “It was safe to touch, so I got curious about it. It’s a really pretty flower.” He held it out a bit for Konoe’s own inspection. “The black at the center - it looked like a berry.”

“Is that really a good enough reason though?” Konoe raised a brow, unconvinced. Nevertheless, he waved his hand as if dismissing the whole conversation. “You shouldn’t just eat every flower you see. This one doesn’t even have a name to it yet.”

Thoughtfully, Asato tickled his chin with the white petals. He glanced off to the side, brainstorming. Finally, he said, “We should name it Konoe.”

Shocked once more, the clearly unexpected response threw Konoe off-balance. His lost arm prevented him from catching himself properly, but Asato caught him just as his legs skidded out from under him and his butt landed on the ground.

“Konoe, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Konoe patted his arm. His cheeks were a glowing shade of pink. “More importantly, the flower is not being called that.”

Asato tilted his head, still holding Konoe. “Why not? Konoe’s the one who found them.”

“Only because you sniffed them out in the first place. So you have responsibility in this too if we’re going to play it like that.” The corner of Konoe’s lips turned up at the light teasing.

Now it was Asato who could feel himself blushing. When Konoe put it like that… It was almost like they had something special between them again, like a secret.

“How about we pick some?” Konoe proposed. “We can dry one or two for us. The rest we can show the others to see if they know about it.”

Asato’s ears perked up at the idea, and he smiled. “Yes.”

The two of them got up and picked some of the fuller-bloomed ones, leaving the ones still budding or barely unfurling their petals like the wings of butterflies. With every brush of the midsummer breeze, the flowers swayed as if they were indeed butterflies shivering with anticipation right before flight. Asato half-expected the flutters of white to be carried off with the next breeze.

Konoe put his small gathered bouquet carefully into his pouch, before giving one lone bloom to Asato. “Here,” he said, looking down, “this one is yours.”

Asato’s heart soared happily, a wide smile on his lips. He too held one of the flowers out for Konoe. “And yours,” he said.

The embarrassed blush on Konoe’s face couldn’t hide his budding smile. He twirled the flower between his finger and thumb, his gaze upon it nothing short of adoring and warm. Asato memorized the soft expression. These days, Konoe made such an expression a lot more than he did when they first met. Of course, the world and themselves had been different back then. Back then, something as remarkable as new life coming to the land was inconceivable, when everything and everyone was disappearing into shadows.

Even himself and Konoe… They’d been swallowed up in that darkness too, for a time. Asato’s happiness settled, and he looked at his own flower contemplatively.

“It's really amazing that this new life can come into the world now." Konoe's awed muse almost carried the sigh of a melody, like he was reciting a song. 

Asato could only hum in content agreement.

"Hey. Let’s go home?” Konoe tucked the flower into his pouch as well and extended his right hand.

Asato nodded, intertwining their fingers together, and their made their way back through the trees.

As they did, Asato returned to his previous musings. He thought how warm and solid Konoe was. This was the light of the cat that had saved him. His voice as he sang would forever echo even in the deepest chasms of his heart, where the shadow of his beast once was. Even now, Asato couldn’t say for sure if it was gone or not. But that was alright too. Konoe had seen that part of him and still accepted him. He didn’t give Asato up, even at the cost of his own arm.

Asato glanced at the tied end of Konoe’s empty sleeve. By now, he could look at it without wanting to cry on the spot, mourning this missing part of Konoe that he'd injured so much in the first place. But it was proof of Konoe’s conviction to stand true despite his and Asato’s pain. Or even because of it. There was no way Asato could ignore that. Even now, Konoe was holding fast to both his and Leaks’ pain, and his happiness.

Really, Konoe was amazing. And Asato was able to be so strong because of him as well.

He found himself smiling again, and he looked down at the flower Konoe had given him. A dark core nestled safely in the center of surrounding white. This darkness was always sleeping inside. But it wouldn’t overtake them again. Not like before.

Asato squeezed Konoe’s hand, making him perk up. Instead of answering the questioning stare with words, Asato leaned in to press the tip of his nose to Konoe's cheek. He couldn't hide his pleased purring. Konoe half-sighed, half-laughed Asato's name, only increasing the carefree atmosphere between them as they walked together.

Together. Side by side. Always, they'd be by each other's side, of this Asato was sure. On their own path, once sick with darkness, now being guided by the gentle sway of white flowers.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you go on my drive, you'll see a document in there labeled "ASAKONO BITCHES". That's this fic. Because I'm fabulous with titles.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed what is hopefully the first of many Lamento fics from me! People already familiar with my works know that I have a weakness for hanakotoba (Japanese flower language). As it is, the white flower mentioned in this fic is the white poppy, which symbolizes "rejoice" :D Since flowers were such a thing with Asakono, I sat there like, "This is it. Asakono is it for me. Goodbye my friends, for Nitroplus knows my weakness, as always."
> 
> For more of me yelling about catboys, follow me on twitter, @fuwajellyfish


End file.
